Topics

• Introduction
• Youth Violence
• Community Violence

NURS 418 - A Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention

Module 4: Interpersonal Violence: Youth and Community Violence

Community Violence

Community violence (CV) is : exposure to intentional acts of interpersonal violence committed in public areas by individuals who are not intimately related to the victim.  CV is distinguished from youth violence in who is the intended focus/target and who actually becomes the (unintended) focus.

Common types of community violence that also affect youth include individual and group conflicts (e.g., fights among gangs and other groups, shootings in public areas such as schools and communities). In addition to these, CV involves civil or international wars or “war-like” conditions (see also Collective Violence, future module). Although there are warnings for some types of traumas, community violence can happen with a sudden and terrifying shock (e.g., spontaneous shootings or terrorist attacks, etc.)  Individuals and communities that suffer from community violence often experience increased fears and feelings that the world is unsafe and harm could come at any time.  From The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (nd) Community Violence.  https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/community-violence

Community violence includes direct victimization, witnessing, and hearing about violent acts in the community, and can be an extreme stressor that affects the physical and mental health of youth. Over 85% of urban youth report witnessing some form of community violence in their lifetime and almost 70% report direct victimization. The physical and cognitive immaturity of youth place them at risk for poor health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, aggression, sleep disturbances, and somatization in response to community violence.

• Review this site: Teach Trauma (nd).  http://www.teachtrauma.com/information-about-trauma/types-of-trauma/community-violence/
• Read this: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (2013). Community Violence: Reactions and Actions In Dangerous Times. https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/community_violence_reactions_and_actions_in_dangerous_times.pdf

Take Home messages

• Community violence can be defined as exposure to intentional acts of interpersonal violence committed in public areas by individuals who are not intimately related to the victim.
• Over 85% of urban youth report witnessing some form of community violence in their lifetime and almost 70% report direct victimization.
• Community violent acts often occur without warning and as such can come as a terrifying shock and produce severe trauma among those chronically exposed.
• Youth and families that suffer from community violence often experience increased fears and feelings that the world is unsafe and harm could come at any time.